[Kajazy]

They'll be fine. Just give them as much light as possible. They're not difficult to grow - you just have to remember to sow early!

[Nikkithefoot]

Inside a plastic thingy would be fine. Go for it

[m1ckz]

ill be sowing my russian onion seed over the weekend

[devonbarmygardener]

You've all convinced me to give it a go!

[New shoot]

It is a bit nerve wracking the first year you try onions from seed.  As some have said, they take an age to get going and you keep looking at them and wondering if they are ever going to get there, but they do.

Mine last year overtook the sets, grew for longer and ended up bigger    Some of the set sown ones bolted, but got a clean sweep, with no bolters from the seed sown ones.

Onions are one of my favourite veg and I'll happily eat them cooked every which way and sliced raw into salads, so I have nearly gone through everything I grew already    My seed sowing enterprise will therefore be expanded next season.  I'm sowing either Boxing Day like DD or New Years Day, like I did this year 

[DD.]

I've had a dig in my tin and found some Taresco F1 and Long Red Florence that I bought at Garden Organic last year in their sale, so I'll be sowing those as well, but probably not as early as The Kelsae.

[al78]

I don't have a heated greenhouse or an electric propagator, is it ok to sow February/March on a windowsill or is this too late?

I want mid-sized onions, not big ones.

[Totty]

Got some "Ailsea" seed delivered today
Sowing tomorrow. Hopefully have 80(ish) giant onions in 8 months time!

Totty

I ordered some last night... they look a nice big onion..

As it turned out when sowing, rather than have the 80 seeds stated, I actually sowed 160 modules, plus another half seed tray with 20 or so more for spares. The Ailsea onion is the strain Peter Glazebrook broke the world record with this year so should get some nice big onions. Hopefully start saving my own seed from these from now on.
As soon as they are up, I've borrowed a couple of 300watt LED growlights to stick em under until spring. Be interesting to see how they go, on paper, good seed, good lighting and good growing medium should equal some huge bulbs but, things often have a habit of not quite going to plan.

Totty

[gavinjconway]

I don't have a heated greenhouse or an electric propagator, is it ok to sow February/March on a windowsill or is this too late?

I want mid-sized onions, not big ones.

I'd go for early Feb not march.. They ideally need about 15 - 20 degrees to germinate so on your windowsill will be fine. I just scatter seed in a seed-tray and let them get to matchstick thickness before planting out. I dib a hole, plonk them in and backfill with a handful of compost/sand mix.

[New shoot]

I've had a dig in my tin and found some Taresco F1 and Long Red Florence that I bought at Garden Organic last year in their sale, so I'll be sowing those as well, but probably not as early as The Kelsae.

I've got some Rossa di Toscana from the 50p seed sales to try as well, but like you, I will wait a bit with them.  I think I'm getting a years membership of Garden Organic as a Christmas pressie as well.  I've droppped some very heavy hints, so fingers crossed    I'm really excited about having access to the Heritage Seed Library     

[DD.]

 I'm really excited about having access to the Heritage Seed Library     

I really must try not to get more tomatoes or peas from them, but it's a hard habit to break!

[New shoot]

Well I will be no help there    Can you have too many tomatoes  and DD resisting new peas - nah, not going to happen    There may be another star like the Kent Blue you need to know about 

If I get my membership, I will be trawling the heritage onion section no doubt.  I already grow potato onions, everlasting onions and walking onions, but always room for another old but goodie 

[Glosterboy]

I'm trying to get my head around the timescale regards sowing onion seeds within the first 2 weeks of January to actually planting out the young onion plants? What timescale do other growers use? 8,10,12 weeks? OK we can't forecast the weather during early spring. But, there must come a time when the onion plants become pot-bound. Thanks.

[JayG]

In an unheated greenhouse it takes an interminably long time for them to become anywhere near pot-bound at that time of year, and they shouldn't be overcrowded either if they weren't sown too thickly.

I plant mine out when they're big enough and it's warm enough - late April this year but every year is different as you've already pointed out. They need to establish and grow away without any checks if at all possible to avoid possible bolting problems.

[DD.]

The cat litter tray method I use for leeks is good for onions as well!